Tag: microplastics
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Tire Dust Makes Up the Majority of Ocean Microplastics, Study Finds
Photo: Getty Images When contemplating the emissions from road vehicles, our first thought is often about the various gases coming out of the tailpipe. However, new research shows that we should be more concerned with the harmful particles that are shed from tires and brakes. Scientists have a good understanding of engine emissions, which typically consist of unburnt fuel, oxides…
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Fiberglass – An Overlooked Aquatic Pollutant
From garbage gyres that choke aquatic life to microplastics that accumulate in the human body, plastic pollution in the ocean is a huge problem. People are starting to pay attention to ocean plastic. Another type of ocean pollution still doesn’t get much notice – fiberglass. On the coasts as well as along lakes and rivers, abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) break…
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Groundbreaking Hunt to Check for Microplastics in Drinking Water
Photo: California will become the first state to test drinking water sources for microplastics, like the kinds captured in this jar. (Source: Southern California Coastal Water Research Project) Regulators and water systems are finalizing a first-of-its-kind pilot that will determine whether microplastics are contaminating water destined for the tap. Tiny pieces of plastic waste shed…
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Microplastics pollution is filtering up into the fish we eat
Photo: Fish and plastic (Getty Images/Sergi Escribano) Oysters, tuna and other wild-caught fish we eat often contain plastic As an agrarian civilization, almost all of what humans eat is farmed — with the notable exception of seafood. Aside from some farmed fish, most seafood we consume is still caught in the wild. Yet while it might…
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Tracking microplastics ‘fingerprints’
Photo: Post storm debris made up mostly of plastics and vegetation is scattered across the high tide line in 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG) We don’t often think of plastics as having “fingerprints.” But they do. And, as we continue to find microparticles in unexpected places — from local anchovy and seabird guts…
